1 ELK, 2 ELK, 3 ELK ... BIG GAME AERIAL SURVEY SET

Colorado Parks and Wildlife biologists will begin annual low-altitude helicopter flights Tuesday to assess big game herds, with the wilds from Trinidad to Leadville east of I-25 first on the flyover list.

Biologist Julie Stiver said: "The data is critical to our work of forming population models, management strategies and to set future hunting license numbers."

Later chopper flight will cover South Park, the Upper Arkansas River Valley, the Pikes Peak Region, the Sangre de Cristo mountains, the Wet Mountain Valley and Fishers Peak State Park in Trinidad, officials said.

[Photo: Colorado Parks and Wildlife]